Ten Years From Now
by Lady In Shadows
Summary: A fun little oneshot about the crazed Lana and outcast Reenka, ten years later. Rated for safety, mostly just sillyness. EDIT: Now a collection of oneshots about Lana and Reenka, updated whenever the heck I feel like it.
1. Ten Years From Now

Disclaimer: I do not own Champions Online.

Note from the Shadows: Probably a oneshot. Probably. We think.

**[Ten Years From Now]**

"Reenka!" A young woman's voice, slightly hesitant when speaking, slightly hoarse, rang through the house in an almost annoyed manner. A young woman, short for her age, with grey skin and yellow, cat-like eyes, paused in the middle of putting her earrings in. A green outline of one of the star markings on her arm shown back at her from the mirror. "What is it, Lana?" Her voice was a clear alto, with a ring of laughter hidden in it. "I am not wearing this dress!" The words were slightly slurred, as if the speaker was uncertain which should come first.

Reenka leaned her upper body out of the bathroom to look into the hallway, where Lana stood, cheeks flaming red, in a knee length, dark velvet dress, with purple spirals stitched into the fabric. Reenka had to suppress a smile, looking at her roommate. Few would guess, looking at her, that she had spent her early years in Hell, running for her life. With long white hair, left loose to cover the burn scars on her head, and soft purple eyes, the young woman could very easily be considered pretty. But she was modest, very modest. She rarely bared her legs, and even now kept her hands wrapped constantly, to hide how flames had eaten away the flesh of her palms, leaving only scar tissue. Though most of her burns had been healed by Era years ago, many still remained, especially on her legs. The bottoms of her feet, as well, were one large mass of scar tissue. The woman wouldn't even tolerate wrappings on her feet, but Reenka didn't find that odd. After all, Reenka's own people rarely wore shoes, themselves.

"Well, why not?" Reenka asked with a smile. Lana crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "My legs still show. Besides, if I have to run, I'll flash everyone." Reenka rolled her eyes. "If you'd run upright instead of on all fours..." she started. Lana shook her head, so Reenka just sighed. "Please, Lana? Caprice isn't that dangerous, I promise." Lana raised her eyebrows again. "It's not, really. It's gotten a lot safe over the past couple of years." A polite cough from nearby drew their attention to their other roommate. A small, orange tabby, with a faint scar across the top of his face, sat in the doorway. "She's right, you know." Lana sighed. "Fine... But can I at least have leggings? You know I don't like my scars showing..."

Reenka sighed with a pout, and stepped out of the bathroom. "Alright..." She walked down the hallway, into one of the three bedrooms. She knelt by the dresser, searching through it, then pulled out a pair of sparkly black leggings, which she tossed to Lana. "Here, try these."

Reenka returned to the bathroom, finally getting her earrings in. She leaned towards the mirror as she touched up her make up, looking herself over. She herself was wearing a knee length dress, a dark green with yellow flowers imprinted on it, and red teardrop earrings. She smiles slightly, as she remembered shopping for this one with her adoptive mother.

As Reenka slipped out of the bathroom, she grinned at Lana. "Ready, Lan-lan?" Lana rolled her eyes as the childish nickname, but never the less, she hooked her arm with Reenka's, and out they went.

It was far past dark when they started wobbling home, far past midnight, and Lana was _far_ past drunk. Reenka herself was laughing helplessly as she watched Lana stumble, not feeling even the slightest fault of remorse for her actions in _getting_ Lana so drunk.

Oh, it had seemed harmless enough at the time. Lana had been extremely wound up, and Reenka had decided the best way to calm her was a glass of something to drink. How was she supposed to know that Lana had never drunk before? And, oh, it had been so _amusing_ to watch Lana after one drink, so of course Reenka had bought her a second, and from there, the situation had somehow escalated to this. Lana was wobbling all over the place, unable to walk in anything even vaguely _resembling_ a straight line, and Kit was glaring at Reenka from his perch on Lana's shoulder. "_You_, my friend, get to explain this mess to Kan'eh'Len." Reenka once again burst into helpless giggles as she glanced at Lana's _bare_ legs. Oh yes. Tonight had indeed been amusing. Reenka was certain whoever had caught those leggings would be enjoying them.

Reenka glanced up as she heard the familiar footsteps of her adoptive mother. She had long since given up hope of being reunited with her birth parents, but Serdurni and Alandurmet had become just as true parents in the past ten or so years. Though she would, of course, vehemently deny it, the twenty-nine year old Valori could very easily called cute, with eyes that gave the impression of always being slightly widened, black and white stripped hair that was normally held in a ponytail, grey skin, and tights. Her prosthetic left limbs did not detract from this appearance, but rather, in most cases, enhance it.

Today, Serdurni was evidently headed to a friend's home, but she stopped, eyes widening as she took in Reenka and Lana's appearance. With wide eyes, and a 'meep', she fled in the opposite direction, once again sending Reenka into helpless giggles that caused her to drag both herself and the drunk Lana to the ground.

Kit groaned. "You are definitely explaining this one to Kan'deh'Len."


	2. Visitation

Disclaimer: Reenka, Lana, and Lana's family are mine. Champions Online, however, is not. Please don't sue!

Note from the Shadows: Ah, hell. I need to get back into writing, and this idea's been floating around for ages, so I guess this story *isn't* a oneshot. This occurs a few months after Reenka and Lana's encounter with alcohol. Um... Don't kill me!

**[Visitation]**

Lana swallowed hard, fingers clenched so hard on the edge of her seat that her knuckles turned white as she blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears. The young darkling woman in the driver's seat turned her amber gaze on her. "Lana? Are you going to be okay?" For once, Reenka's voice was soft, and when Lana just shook her head, swallowing again, she reached over, giving Lana's arm a slight reassuring squeeze. "I'm so sorry, Lana..." She glanced in the rearview mirror, to get a look at the exhausted tabby in the back seat. Lana shut her eyes, recounting mentally the events that had led up to this.

Lana stood across the street from the public park, eyes scanning the children, until she finally saw him. Her breath caught in her throat, and she blinked back tears. "James..." she whispered, looking at the twelve year old boy who so care-freely spoke to another child. His hair was a dark, dark black, his eyes an aqua blue- yet unlike Lana, his facial structure favored their father. Lana took a deep breath, holding Kit close for a moment to calm herself. "It's now or never, Lana..." Kit jumped from her arms, nudging Lana's legs.

Ten years ago, with the aid of Kan'deh'Len, Lana had looked up her family- but she had refused to go meet them. Finally, however, Lana had given in to Reenka and Kit's nagging, and had again searched for them. But now that it was time... Lana balked. Kit nudged her again, and taking a deep breath, Lana walked forward.

"Ex-excuse me, is your name James?" The little boy lifted his head, blinking blue eyes that reminded her so, so much of how her own used to be. "Huh? Yeah, why?" Lana sighed in relief. "May I speak to your parents? Please?" She barely even noticed it- the word your, instead of our. As if she no longer considered them her parents. The small boy thought nothing of it, smiling. "Alright. I'll be back later, Terry!" He waved at his friend.

Moments later, Lana found herself standing in front of a man, and a woman. Lana saw herself in the facial features of the woman- the oval eyes and small nose, the pointed chin. And the man- Lana swallowed, trying to fight down a lump in her throat. Her ears, which had so often annoyed her, and her smile- these she saw reflected back at her. She took a deep breath. "My... My name is Lana, sir, ma'am. And... Up until twelve years ago, it was Elilana." She scooped Kit up, tensing.

A long moment passed. Lana shut her eyes, about to turn away. "Eli? Elilana?" The note of astonishment in her father's voice practically ripped her heart in two. "Lana these days. I... It's me, papa." Lana scarcely had time to blink before she was snatched up into a bone crushing hug. "Look at you! You're all grown up now, I hardly recognize you! What happened to your hair, and eyes?" Her father brought his hand up to touch her hair, and Lana jerked away by instinct. "Magic. It's... It's a long story, papa."

"I have a sister?" Young James sounded... Almost angry. "You never told me that!" Lana's father released her, and Lana looked to her mother- only to wince when she saw the woman looking at her coldly and angrily. Lana winced. "Mama?" The woman's gaze remained impassive. "Don't call me that. You're not my daughter. You're not Eli."

Lana took a step back when she heard the hate in the woman's words, tears filling her eyes. "I am, mama. It's me. I'm so, so sorry that it took me so long to come home... Bt it's me, Eli. Don't you remember when we'd make cookies together, when we'd-" Lana never got to finish her sentence, stumbling back and dropping Kit with a gasp when an open palm hit her cheek, leaving a red handprint. The tears that had threatened finally came, and she turned and ran before the woman could see them.

Kit wasn't even dazed from the ground, watching for a moment as Lana ran off- and how, after a moment, she began running on all fours, as she had for years. The aging tabby turned, purple eyes fixing on the woman with a glare. "Congratulations. You just sent your daughter running off in tears." There was a gasp from the father as he spoke, and a schreech from the mother. James, however, knelt down to look at the feline in curiousity. After a moment, the boy moved to pick him. up. Kit let him, jumping from the boys arms, to his shoulders. "You know, she was afraid of this, when Kan'deh'Len looked you two up. Seeing you now, I can't say I blame her- I think she guessed your reaction almost perfectly." The cat makes no effort to keep the disdain from his voice. "She spent two years in hell. Two years, wanting her mother. She was so fucking hopeful when we made this trip down here- about _you_, in particular. Talking all about the days she spent with her mother, how her mother loved her so much, how her mother made a blanket for her. She still has that blanket, you know. I don't think she ever told Kan'deh'Len where she got it, or that she kept it, but she still has it. Spent hours one night, repairing every single tear, removing every stain, repairing it. Still sleeps with it when she's scared." Kit quiets, waiting for the woman to absorb this.

Her answer was disappointing, in the extreme. "That's not my daughter. I don't know who she is, but that's not my Eli!" Kit growled. Not the soft, irritated sound most cats make- no, this was a true growl, reminiscent of a large cat, like a lion- one of the few minutes where he allowed himself to show his-not-entirely-mundane nature- well, besides the talking, but the talkings unrelated, really. "She was. She's not anymore, thank god for that. This would break her if she still considered herself to be your daughter. She stopped being Eli eleven years ago, stopped being yours a year after that. She's not sure who she is now- but she was willing to find out with you. After this? Pretty safe bet that you just scared your kid away for good, lady." Now Kit wasn't the only one glaring- James had joined him now, glaring at his mother. "I had a sister, and you never told me!" "We thought she was dead, son.." His father started, trying to placate him. "The memory hurt your mother too much, we both agreed to move on with our lives. We had you to worry about now, remember?" This, if anything, seemed to just anger the twelve year old more. "That's even worse! You would have just _forgotten_ about her? About your own _daughter_? That's horrible!" Kit nodded in agreement, fury entering his violet eyes. They forgot about Lana- They _forgot_ about **his** Lana! How dare they! Without a word, the cat jumped from his perch, lifting his tail and stalking off, glaring angrily at the two adults as their son railed at them. After a moment, he _ran_, but not to Lana. No, first he need to find someone who could _carry_ Lana. If she was as far gone as he feared- but he hoped she wasn't- someone would need to, after all.

Reenka tapped her fingers boredly on the steering wheel, wishing she hadn't opted out of going to meet Lana's family with them. True, the car was nice and cool, with no wasps, and it was also true that her appearance would cause a bit of a stir- at this thought, Reenka absently touched her index finger to a thin scar running across the back of her left hand- but it was so _boring_ in this ca- Reenka was startled out of her musings when she heard a scratching at her door, looking over to see Kit scrambling up until her could hook his forelegs over the edge of the open window, looking angry. "Come on, Lana's upset and I need someone with thumbs in case she's gone off it." This was the only explanation Reenka received before the cat jumped back down, and she got out of the car, starting to run as she saw he'd started without her.

"Kiiit! What's wrong? Did something happen, is she hurt, is there a demon?" Reenka fired off one question after another as she managed to catch up to the feline, hurrying along beside him. "Yes, emotionally and probably mentally. and only if you count her mother as one. And her father, I guess. The woman refuses to accept Lana as her daughter, the father was kind while she was there, but the moment she ran, he admited that he had attempted to forget about her. That they both had." Now Reenka joined Kit's rage, silently promising herself that the two would _pay_ for that. First, though, they had to find Lana.

Surprisingly, that didn't take long. They found Lana by a tree, leaning against it as she caught her breath, crying silently. Reenka said nothing, just walking over and hugging the white-haired woman gently, leading her back to the car.


End file.
